With an enrollment of 960, St. Aloysius ranked as the largest Catholic high school for boys in the South.

• The entire school building was recently weatherproofed and painted.
• The Mothers' Club raised funds to purchase a new Reo Bus.
• Brother Martin returned as principal for the 15th year. He would have a major impact on the final game of the season.
• With Brother Bernard having been transferred to the new scholasticate in Daphne AL, Brother Jules took over as Athletic Director.

The coaching staff remained intact from 1947.

• Harry "Wop" Glover returned for his seventh season as head coach (1939-42 and 1946-8).
• Johnny Altobello, fresh off coaching the summer baseball team to the national championship in Johnstown PA, tutored the backfield while Charlie Dufour continued as line coach.

Glover's teams had become known for their strong defense.

• His 1948 contingent was not expected to be an exception with Red Perret back at E and an outstanding pair of guards returning in Bobby Nuss (a fifth year senior taking advantage of his last season of eligibility before moving to Tulane for the second semester) and Charles Bordlee. Martin Otillio, Walter Fleming, and Frank Gagliano provided depth at T. Eddie Bravo, who had played in varsity games as a freshman in '47, occupied the other terminal spot.
• Four lettermen returned in the T-formation backfield: Huey Bridges, Gerry Zimmerman, Adolph LaPlace, and Jim Carroll. Bridges would miss the opening game because of a broken finger.

With only eight games on the schedule, St. Aloysius was the last local team out of the gate, then played two games within a span of five days.

For the sixth year in a row, the Crusaders opened with the Bears of Catholic High.

• CHS had already played two games, defeating Baker and Bishop Byrne (Port Arthur TX).
• The undisputed star of coach Eddie Harelson's first squad at his alma mater was RB Jerry Marchand. The future LSU Tiger would test the Crusader D as much as any back they would face all season.
• A small battle erupted over the broadcast of the game. The radio station that owned the rights to all games played in City Park Stadium refused to allow a transmission by a crew from the Capital City.

• Q1: The Crusaders thrilled their fans among the crowd of 7,000 by scoring the first time they gained possession. SA drove from its 43 in nine ground plays with Zimmerman, Milton Rebennack, and La Place toting the ball until Gerry scampered 20y behind good blocking around RE. His missed PAT would prove crucial. Late in the period, Marchand, "the bouncing FB with a Harry Gilmer style of passing" (after the Alabama star who jumped to throw the ball), fired a long pass to little Jerry Didier who was in the clear but dropped the ball.
• Q2: The first play brought a repeat of the earlier pass with Didier again unable to hang on. The Saints got a scoring opportunity when Russell Gauthreaux fumbled on the Bruin 38. SA moved to a first down on the 15 but two big losses led to a fourth down pass from Jim "Christy" Christiansen that Robert Goodman jumped high and intercepted. Marchand then faded back from the 17, spotted open field to his right, and ran 19y but was bumped down by one of his own blockers. The Bears marched to the SA 21 before losing the ball with 17 seconds left in the half.

• Q3: On the third play after the kickoff, Marchand finally connected with Didier who juggled the ball but held on at the SA 30 and outran two secondary men to complete the 75y TD. Goodman's missed EP left the score tied. With three minutes remaining, Gautreaux returned LaPlace's punt 13y to the Bear 43. Three plays failed to gain, leading to a Marchand punt. But Aloysius drew a 15y penalty on the play, giving CHS a first down on the 42. On the next play, the two Bruin backs swapped places, Didier throwing to Marchand in the right flat. He weaved through three tacklers who seemingly had him cornered on the 20 to score standing up. Goodman's boot put CHS up by 7.
• Q4: The Crusader comeback started when Gauthreaux dropped the ball on an end sweep without being touched by a defender, and Jimmy Cronin recovered on the CHS 26. SA took four thrusts to make a first down on the 12. Then LaPlace carried twice to the 1. The D rose up and stuffed LaPlace on the 1' line and then Rebennack just inches short. So Christiansen tried a different approach, tossing to another sub back, Mickey Cortez, for the tally. Christiansen then crossed up the D again by lining up in a regular T formation for the EP, faking a handout, and bootlegging around LE with no one near him for the tying point. Two minutes later, Marchand cut loose another heave, but E Reuben Ruiz dropped it in the clear on the 18. When SA took over, Christiansen tried a pass with four minutes to play. Didier intercepted and ran several yards before "suddenly parting company with the football" (Dan Hardesty, Morning Advocate) which Zimmerman pounced on at his 47. SA moved to the 29, but Donald Major threw Christiansen for an 8y loss to halt the threat. The thrills continued to the very end as Didier snagged a 37y pass from Marchand on the Crusader 31 and went out of bounds with 0:01 on the clock. Marchand's desperate pass was batted down.

The Crusader fans among the 15,000 in attendance left disappointed as the Tarps dominated. On defense, Fortier stifled the Saints, holding them to three first downs and not allowing them past midfield. Needing to energize his offense, Coach Buck Seeber moved big All-Prep G Al Robelot to the backfield and switched back to the single wing after a one game flirtation with the new-fangled T formation.

• Q1: A pass from Boudreaux to Gus Englehardt put the ball on the 7, from where Englehardt did the honors on an end around.
• Q2: Boudreaux finally ended his personal scoring drought against the Saints on a 6y plunge to culminate a short drive after a Crusader fumble.
• Q3: The Crusader line, led by Nuss, Bordlee, and Earl Burke, kept the Tarpons in check. But, on the other side of the ball, any adjustments the Crusaders made bore no fruit.
• Q4: Fortier seemed destined for another TD until a fumble halted the advance. But after a poor punt, Ivy Hoover ripped off the longest run of the evening, 17y, to set up the last TD, which went to Leonard Smith. Finally, in the closing seconds, the Tarpons registered a safety.

• Q1: With five minutes left in the period, Zimmerman took a punt on his 32 and returned it 10y. Runs by Rebbenack and LaPlace moved the ball to the Jay 35. On the next play, Zimmerman broke through RT and cut to his right to outrun three defenders to score standing up.
• Q2: The teams battled head to head until two minutes remained, when Jerry Griffith galloped around RE for 75y to tie the game. But the Saders managed to retake the lead before the half ended. Starting on the 41 after the kickoff, LaPlace skirted RE for 24y. After a failed pass and Zimmerman getting zilch at T, Christiansen threw a long pass to Jerry who was downed as he caught it at the 4 with 0:15 on the EZ clock. Thinking the Jays would be braced for a LaPlace plunge, Christiansen passed to Perret for the TD and a 12-6 lead at the break.
• Q3: Perret made the key play that led to the next score late in the period. He blocked Griffith's punt on the Jesuit 28, caught it, and carried it to the 4. LaPlace needed only one play to push into the EZ.
• Q4: Rain fell during the period but failed to put a damper on the Crimson TD parade. LaPlace intercepted Griffith's pass on the Jay 36 and returned it to the 7. Again, the TD drive took only one play, Zimmerman doing the honors. Christiansen tallied the only EP of the afternoon.

• Q1: Even a poor punt redounded to the Tigers' benefit when the Crusader going after the ball was hit by three men, causing a fumble that HC recovered to start a 56y TD march. Rugged FB Pete Mayeaux, provided an up-the-middle attack to complement Heap's sweeps, the combo moving the pigskin to the 4. A 7y aerial to E Clarence Zimmerman provided a change of pace along the way. Heap circled RE for his first score of the long evening (for the Crusaders).
• Q2: T Charlie Corne pounced on LaPlace's fumble on the SA 33 to start the ball rolling toward the second TD. Heap immediately passed to Zimmerman for 29y. Then Joe took it in from there. Before the period ended, another turnover set up the third scoring drive. Mayeaux intercepted a pass on the HC 20. After Lloyd Bertrand picked up 8 and Mayeux 2, Heap took off on a brilliant 67y run to the EZ, "his long willowy frame fairly eating up yardage as he sailed unmolested through the Crimson secondary" (Charles Brennan, New Orleans States). The versatile Mayeaux booted the EP to make it 19-0 at intermission.
• Q3: Any hopes of an SA comeback vanished when the Tigers drove 76y for their fourth and final six. All three runners contributed: Mayeux for 7 and 9, Bertrand with 14 and 16, and Heap dashing the final 36, off tackle this time. The Crusaders ended an 11-quarter scoring drought against the Crossmen by garnering a safety when sub back Ray Lamy corralled Bertrand in the EZ on a fake punt.
• Q4: With subs proliferating on both sides and HC keeping it simple on offense, neither team scored in the final 12 minutes.

Zimmerman led Aloysius with 53y on 11 carries. Christiansen completed 9 of 15 passes, including seven of nine at one point.

• Q1: A bad snap by the Rebels in punt formation set up SA's first score. Nicholls' triple threat QB Ray Weidenbacher fumbled the low snap and was downed on the 12. After Rebennack and Zimmerman gained a yard apiece, Christiansen passed to Bravo over the middle for the TD.
• Q2: The Ninth Ward crew countered with a TD and PAT to take the lead. At first, it looked like the Saints had dodged a bullet when they held on the 1. But a poor punt put the enemy right back in business at the 23, and a 15y penalty moved the ball to the 6. From there, Weidenbacher tossed a TD pass to E Ray Price in the flat. Carl Beard booted the EP. In the final seconds of the half, a heroic play by Christiansen put Aloysius on top for good. With the ball on the Nicholls 26, Jim faded back to pass but couldn't find an open receiver. So he slipped around the charging Rebels and fought his way over the goal line. The play not only gave the Saints a 12-7 lead but, according to Charlie Brennan, "charged them up for the rest of the game. Up to that time the Crimsons looked as if they didn't know whether they could handle Nicholls or not."
• Q3: Another bad punt snap to Weidenbacher gave Aloysius a safety, the two points replacing the PATs missed in the first half. Later in the period, Zimmerman stretched the lead to 13 with a 3y run around RE. A 13y pass, Christiansen-to-Bravo and two fine runs by Rebennack set up the touchdown.
• Q4: A 30y pass from Weidenbacher to Price resulted in the Rebs' second TD. Finally, the Saints got a gift score in the last seconds when C Earl Burke, rushing the passer, knocked the ball away from Weidenbacher, gathered in the spheroid on the Nicholls 42, and hot-footed it to the EZ.

Considering the adversity they faced, the Crusaders gave a good account of themselves. Cliff Stringfield, future LSU QB, accounted for every point of the home team, passing for four TDs and booting two PATs.

• Q1: "The sensational little Zimmerman" not only played but sparked the Saints to a 12-6 lead at halftime. On the third play of the game, he shocked the home crowd when he ran over RT for 54y and a quick six. However, a few plays later, Stringfield fired a 20y pass to HB Elwood Statham to tie the score. But the elation was short-lived as Zim fielded the kickoff on the 10 and ran through the entire Lumberjack eleven to make it 12-6.
• Q2: The Jacks stifled the Crusader O but couldn't dent the goal line themselves.
• Q3: Bogalusa came out of the locker room a different club. Early in the period, Stringfield flipped a 5y aerial to Harry Wilson, then kicked the EP to give the Jacks their first lead, 13-12. Cliff later recovered an SA fumble on the 21. He wasted no time padding the lead, connecting with Graham on the very first play. The EP stretched the lead to seven. Before the quarter mercifully ended, Stringfield connected with Statham for another six, this one from the 5.
• Q4: Aloysius could make no headway in the final 12 minutes of their season.